If you took all the boring parts from Tool's previous albums..

[ZEEGLER]

...and mashed them together, you know what you'd get?

Fear Inoculum. That's what.

Yeah I know I'm late to the party, but I just listened to this. Actually I'm about half way through. What a snoozefest.

 

[thegame]

Give it a chance. Most of the songs really pick up at the 10 minute mark

 

[BeZo]

I'm going to get "MAKE TOOL GRUNGE AGAIN" embroidered on some red hats. Who wants one?

 

[Jccobb2]

It’s not their high point, but it’s listenable.

 

[Jimty]

I felt the same way when I first heard it - literally had to check if I was still listening to the same song at one point (I wasn’t, a new track had started while I was out of the room briefly, but it could have still been the same one). That said, Pneuma and Invincible really grew on me and so did the title track to a lesser extent.

 

[angelspade]

...and mashed them together, you know what you'd get?

Fear Inoculum. That's what.

Yeah I know I'm late to the party, but I just listened to this. Actually I'm about half way through. What a snoozefest.

Not their finest hour...Still better than a lot of stuff out there.

 

[DanTravis62]

Overrated band puts out overrated record, i'm shocked i tell you, shocked

 

[SonVolt]

Fear Inoculum is my favorite Tool album since Aenema.

 

[skoora]

Overrated band puts out overrated record, i'm shocked i tell you, shocked

I don’t know of any other band that confuses me as much in regards to such a rabid fan base. They have a couple of good riffs, one or two OK songs but in general are just very bland and repetitive.
Not saying they aren’t good players and Maynard I do think is a good singer, but the package is just not exciting.
In all of their catalog that I’ve heard they only have one song that I’m actually stoked to hear start up….and I can’t even remember that one’s name

 

[DanTravis62]

I don’t know of any other band that confuses me as much in regards to such a rabid fan base. They have a couple of good riffs, one or two OK songs but in general are just very bland and repetitive.
Not saying they aren’t good players and Maynard I do think is a good singer, but the package is just not exciting.
In all of their catalog that I’ve heard they only have one song that I’m actually stoked to hear start up….and I can’t even remember that one’s name

Same man, same.

They're.... fine? They have a handful of good tunes and riffs. "Crawl Away" "46 and 2" and "Lateralus" all come to mind. But Tool fans act like they are on the level of Metallica or Iron Maiden or something and I simply do not, for the life of me, understand it.

It's like listening to someone on shrooms play drop d riffs, only they have a super talented drummer to make all the bullshit nonsense time signatures "make sense"

 

[LightenUpFrancis]

I would never admit this in other Tool circles for fear of crucifixion, but being that I can't bring myself to skip tracks on an album (let alone one by Tool), "Culling Voices" makes it unlistenable for me. It's one of the only pieces of their catalog that I have actively disliked to the point that it kept me from catching recent tours.

I remember interviews around the time 10,000 Days released where Adam mentioned not wanting to fall into the trap of releasing music where it sounds "like a band covering itself." I wouldn't claim to be able to navigate the pressure of a 13-year gap and come up with something better, but I fully believe that fear led them directly to that exact place. Target fixation, even in avoidance.

 

[rsm]

Tool is still a thing?

never was a fan; same for most grunge / nu metal. after hair metal and thrash metal, I went into prog metal / death metal. It was as if grunge never existed for me - because it didn't. Still dislike it to this day.

Back in the day I quit a hair metal band when they wanted to cover Smells Like Teen Spirit and I was outvoted 3 to 1.

 

[LightenUpFrancis]

It was as if grunge never existed for me - because it didn't. Still dislike it to this day.

That was my case too; nothing from that sound really stuck for me.

I'll always appreciate Tool for the jumping-off point that led me to a bunch of other greats: ISIS, Melvins, Mastodon, Fantomas, Meshuggah, Yob, Chelsea Wolfe, and on and on...

 

[RaceU4her]

...and mashed them together, you know what you'd get?

Fear Inoculum. That's what.

Yeah I know I'm late to the party, but I just listened to this. Actually I'm about half way through. What a snoozefest.

totally agree. when that album came out i listened, and then went back and listened to all their albums again as i do every few years thinking maybe this will be the time i "get" them. nope, and im done trying. the first album has a couple good songs i like and thats it.

 

[311boogieman]

I like Tool just fine but truly only spin their stuff maybe 2 or 3 times a year. I tried to like the new album but no beano.

When I hear what happened last year I lost most of what remaining respect I had for them.

"Tool in the Sand" or whatever. 2 day Tool fest in Mexico (I think it was). People were pissed because they largely played the same set list on the second night

What a bunch of tools.

 

[LightenUpFrancis]

For a good strech now it's felt like they can't be bothered to accommodate each other's schedules, kind of the bare minimum for any relationship. I won't pretend to know interpersonal dynamics between the four, but building-in the convenience of writing separately for the sake of continuing - has clearly changed the band for a while now (for better or worse).

I think to restore my faith, it'd take Salival II. Ticks & Leeches reimagined like Pushit live. Live audio of The Patient. A David Bowie cover and a Bob Odenkirk segue. I'm sure a demo is nestled into the case in a shipment of stolen Gibson sig models.

 

[311boogieman]

Here it is

Set List #1 Friday night:
Stinkfist
Fear Inoculum
Rosetta Stoned
Pneuma
Jambi
Schism
The Grudge
Flood
Invincible
Vicarious

Set List #2 Saturday night: (look familiar? what is that...about 45 minutes of the same music as the night before )
Fear Inoculum
Ænema
Rosetta Stoned
Pneuma
Jambi
Descending
Intolerance
Chocolate Chip Trip
Swamp Song


Mastodon and Eagles of Death Metal and C.O.C. would have been cool though - but many a Tool fan were disappointed, especially considering the cost of the resort and travel to get there.

 

[LightenUpFrancis]

The frustration isn't lost on me. I was at back-to-back nights in Dallas for the 2012 tour, and I think 3 songs were different between the sets. I'd taken a non-fan friend for each night, and even they said "Are they really playing all these over again?"

Not saying it's right or that I'd sign off on that as a band member. But it's absolutely par for the course.

 

[67mike]

Never really had a desire to listen to tool. Tried, not checking the boxes. What am I not getting?

 

[VonBonfire]

Tool is the first metal band I ever heard to somehow thrive on music that completely lacks any excitement or intensity. The complete antithesis of metal. I guess thirty five years later someone is finally disappointed.